Edie

Edie

SasatheShy

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Chapter Thirty-Five: Vile Blade

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Four days later, and Edie was back on her feet. No longer overdosed with depression, thanks to Cain’s comeback visits, she was glowing beautifully and happily. Her pregnancy sickness had left her rather swiftly. She no longer felt dizzy, nor had headaches. Well, an occasional one here and there. But such types were caused from work. Lavan took notice of her change. He rather have her happy than sad, of course -- but knowing the cause was from both his and Cain’s presence did not make him the least bit satisfied. He had made a promise, and a compromise. But he wanted to break both. He wanted to win Edie over, and rid her of Cain’s constant words of love and support.

Lavan believed them all to be lies; sheer, filthy, wicked lies.

And he hoped to someday prove just that.

But for now, Edie was happy. And though he hated the reasons behind her cheerfulness, he’d sustain them for the time being.

--

Evening came, and the front door of the inn opened swiftly. High winds howled as the guest pushed the door closed.

It was a woman shrouded in black. She panted heavily, and shivered from being out in the cold. Her face was hidden by a long, hooded cloak, and it even draped down, hiding whatever she wore on her body.

Rubbing her hands together, she made her way over to a table. She helped herself to a seat. She was noticed right away. Two different ladies went to her, ready to help her. A cute girl with short, brown hair got to her first. She stuck her tongue out at the unlucky other before smiling down at the woman.

“Good evening,” she said. “Are you ordering today?”

“Yes,” shivered the woman. “I’m freezing. Just bring me whatever you have that will warm my body.”

“Our special is the warm, creamy vegetable stew.”

“Great,” the woman nodded. “Just bring some to me.”

Blinking, the girl nodded as she wrote down the order. “Uh -- would you like something to drink…?”

“No. Please, just the meal.”

A bit rattled, the girl hurriedly left the woman alone.

After some time, the woman enjoyed her warm meal. She sighed as she sipped on the thick, steamy broth. She took in the carrot and onion, the greens and potatoes. It was quite delicious.

Once finished, she peeked around. The place was almost empty now. Smiling, she got to her feet. She left two small coins on the table before making her way over to the backdoor. She did best to look as casual as possible. Her arms hid beneath the cloak, and she only stuck out one of her bare hands to grasp the back handle and pull the door open.

She sneaked through the back, looking out for the inn’s employees… She grimaced as she looked about the dirty hallway. It was filthy -- the entire inn was gross. She kept to the middle of the hallway, making sure not to touch the walls. She eyed around, soon landing her orbs on the doorway leading into the kitchen. She grinned as she looked inside, finding only one person in there.

The kitchen was cleaned up. No food was cooking, and there was no other chefs besides Edie. She was wiping away at the counter with a washcloth, getting out a large, sticky stain. She had her back to the front of the kitchen, not realizing that she was being stalked.

Glaring, the hooded woman stepped into the kitchen. She took a few baby steps before pausing some inches behind Edie.

“Edie?” she then asked.

Jolting out of shock, Edie swirled around to face the woman. She tilted her head, avoiding grasping her heart from being sneaked up on. “Y -- yes?”

“So then, you are Edie?” The woman hissed. She lowered her hood, revealing to Edie who she was.

Though she looked different, Edie remembered that face. Wrinkled and dirty, it once was a poppy pink, pale and fair. Short, tangled hair had once accompanied a long, breathtaking braid. And the torn, raggedy dress covering over that pale skin was once, long ago, glittery, satiny cloth fitted for a queen.

Edie trembled in place. “Verity…?”

“You know my name?” Verity chuckled. She raised a brow. “Of course you do. Cain had to of mentioned me -- and after my humiliating -- mistake, I’m sure you found out about me.”

Keeping still, Edie questioned whether she should shout for help or not. She backed into the counter, deciphering her two escape routes in case Verity dared anything funny.

“What do you want?” she asked, acting brave.

Verity held her posture. Though she’s resulted to a life on the streets, she still stood as if she were the richest woman in all the land. Her eyes shifted as she took in Edie’s appearance. Her upper lip quivered. Her eyes winced together, as if she were certain that the Edie before her was a joke.

Eventually, she grunted snobbishly. “You are Edie?” -- she brushed at her hair, faking that her braid was still attached -- “I must be hallucinating. You cannot be the woman my Cain has grown a fond for. I mean -- just look at you! Disgusting! Your hair curls like the tail of a hog, and it’s a dull brown. Those eyes -- they’re spread apart and hideous. Oh! And don’t get me started on your style of dress -- why, you look like a King’s servant girl.

“And your name,” she snorted. “Edie -- why, your very name fits for a girl meant to scoop the dung of farm animals. It is not pretty at all!”

The vile woman chuckled. She saw that Edie was taking her words seriously. Edie was shaking, and looked about ready to spray like a fountain. Verity cackled as she crossed her arms beneath her cloak. Her eyes lowered, resting on Edie’s bosom.

“You also have small breasts,” she sighed. “Not really fitting for a man; especially a man like Cain.”

Gasping, Edie crossed her arms over her covered mounds. She suddenly felt naked, and she was becoming afraid. Gulping, she soon found herself glaring at Verity.

“Please leave,” she commanded. “Cain -- will be here any minute. He visits me every evening. If he catches you here…”

“Really?” interrupted Verity. She snorted. “Good -- let him come. Then, he can see what I’m about to do to his slut’s ugly, little face!”

It happened in seconds. Edie shouted out, dodging the sharp blade of a dagger hidden beneath Verity’s cloak. Verity swung her arm out, holding the dagger high above her head. She howled like a banshee as she swung the blade madly around, trying to cut into Edie’s skin.

Edie cried out as she ducked.

“Stop!” she shrieked, dodging again. “No! Stop it!”

Verity brought her leg up, kicking Edie hard. Gasping, Edie flew back, hitting a pile-up of clean dishes. They clattered to the floor. Some glasses shattered to pieces, and fine glass flew everywhere as Edie stumbled. She tried not to step on any of the broken pieces as Verity continued to hack at her. She felt almost useless, for she could not fight back. The vile woman daring to kill her insanely moved her arms, not seeming to care how she attempted to slice Edie to bits -- she only wanted Edie dead.

In one quick motion, a terrible occurrence met Edie. She felt a sharp pain trace up her arm… The dagger had managed to slice at her… She knew she was bleeding. She had almost ran in a complete circle, not getting a good enough chance to run for help. She continued to cry out, hoping that Tonisha or Lavan would hear her and come save her from Verity’s destructive wrath.

“Cain belongs with me!” Verity hissed. “Die, bitch! Die!”

“No!” Edie cried as she put her arms up…

And the dagger came down… Edie waited for the worst. But nothing happened.

“What?” she heard Verity gasp.

Slowly, Edie lifted her head, watching with amazement as Verity fought with her savior.

Cain.

“Let go of me!”

Growling, Cain pushed Verity. Verity stumbled back, keeping her balance. She huffed and glared as Cain helped Edie up.

“Are you okay?” Cain asked Edie, his voice quiet and concerned.

Unable to speak, Edie did only one thing. She hugged Cain tightly. Cain held her as he glared over at Verity.

“You…!” he started.

“Oh, shut up,” Verity panted. She held the dagger up. It was stained with the blood she had oozed out of Edie’s arm. “Do you truly love her that much, Cain? How --? How could you fucking do this to me! I wanted to give you my everything! But you forced me into the streets!”

Wanting to talk back, the captain remained calm. He breathed heavily as he rubbed Edie’s back gently.

“Why her?” Verity growled. “Why her! Why her over me? I’m beautiful, Cain! I’m the best that there is! And you pushed me away!

“I was going to marry you. I was going to -- get all of your money -- all to myself.” She laughed, now, showing off her craziness. “But you never loved me in return. You only used me --” She squinted her eyes, glaring madly. “I’ve been reduced to a measly street whore…”

She took a single step forward. She raised the dagger high in front of her, pointing it straight at Edie’s heart. She took another step as Cain pushed Edie behind him, ready to protect the cook no matter what.

“This is so -- beautiful,” Verity sighed. She laughed. “You actually -- love this bitch…” She growled lowly.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped,” she said madly. “I never cared for bastard men. You can die as well!”

Again, she charged.

“No!” Edie cried out. “Cain!”

Reaching forward, Cain grabbed at Verity’s wrist, keeping her from pushing the dagger’s blade down on Edie. He gave her a single push back, and what happened next was all caused by Verity’s own mess-up.

Swiftly, she fell back. She could not keep her balance, this time. She turned, and put her hands beneath her, prepared to catch herself from falling. But she had made a mistake… The dagger turned on her. A piercing cry escaped her. Her eyes rolled back as she slowly turned on her back, falling against the shattered pieces of glass on the floor. Bloodied, Verity stared down at the dagger stuck in her heart… She only managed to lift her head up at Cain and Edie’s stunned faces before her world fogged, and she drifted into blackness.

Due to her greed, the vile vixen was murdered by her own vile blade.

Cain let out a breath he had been holding in. He was just as shaken as Edie. He held her protectively as he stared down at Verity’s limp, cold body. He was not expecting her to fall upon her own blade. He only wanted to keep her away from Edie.

Tonisha raced in, at that time. Lavan followed right behind her. She had let out a surprised gasp.

“God,” she gaped. She looked from Verity’s corpse to Cain and Edie’s quivering forms. “You killed her?” She immediately blamed Cain.

“I…” Cain began.

“No,” Edie interrupted. “Cain didn’t -- it was an accident! But -- she tried to kill me… God she a -- almost killed me.” Crying, Edie buried her face into Cain’s chest. He rocked her on his feet, knowing that Lavan was glaring coldly at him.

“Holy shit…” Tonisha trembled. She rubbed at her forehead… “We --”

“Tonisha, some of my men are upstairs,” Cain said. “Mark is with them. They can carry Verity’s body back to my home. She -- she has a sister who I’m sure would like to say goodbye.”

Nodding, Tonisha believed Cain’s idea to be a good one. She turned on her heels and raced upstairs.

Lavan stepped forward, then. He put his arms out. “Edie, your arm?”

Edie blinked. She looked to her bleeding arm. She moved back some as Cain examined it.

“It needs to be cleaned and bandaged,” he said.

“I got the supplies for that,” Lavan said. He went up to them and gently took Edie’s hand.

“But…” Edie began, wanting to protest. She looked up at Cain. But he nodded at her.

“Go with him,” Cain whispered. “I need to go with the others -- and take care of the body. I’ll come back later.”

“Promise?” Edie asked.

“Yes,” Cain smiled. “I promise.”

--

The captain and his right-hand man stood patiently and silently as Aleah mourned her sister’s death. They were in a small-lit room. There, resting on the plain, ugly floor, was Verity’s stone-cold, lifeless body.

Aleah was on the floor, hugging her sister gently. She was crying heavily. Her fisted hands held tightly on the fabric of the dress her sister was wearing, and she had her cheek rested over the top of her fallen sister.

“No,” she repeatedly whimpered.

Cain slowly looked over at Mark. Mark was standing behind Aleah. He frowned over at his captain, giving him a stern look. It was one Cain’s not seen before. It almost angered him. He tried to ignore it. He looked down at Aleah. He tilted his head, watching Aleah look into Verity’s empty eyes.

Something came over him, then. He was not sure if it was because he wanted to release some anger -- or whether he wanted to upset Mark. But words left him, either way. Words that he surely thought had to be told.

“Aleah,” he began, “You should not feel too upset by your sister’s death. She deserved death.” He paused, watching Aleah lift her head at him in surprise. Her eyes had widened. “She abused you -- and if she had gotten away with marrying me, she would have tossed you right out onto the streets.

“Your sister was a bitch.” Again, he paused. He watched as Aleah released more tears. She lowered her head, and he knew that she was taking in his words. “She was a cold, heartless bitch. You should feel lucky now that she is dead. You are free now.”

Mark shook his head at his captain. He could not believe that his captain could stoop so low -- and yet, was he speaking the truth? In a way, now that Verity was gone, Aleah did have her freedom. Mark knew that the girl had been beaten by her sister -- and who knows what else Verity might had done to her? He shuddered a bit, not wanting to think about how Aleah had been hurt by her sister.

Going quiet, then, Cain made his leave. He eyed Mark briefly before leaving the two alone with Verity’s corpse.

Turning his head, Mark knelt behind Aleah. He touched her shoulder reassuringly. “Aleah, don’t take in what Cain said… He’s an ass.”

Sniffing, Aleah slowly turned to look up at Mark. She shivered from his touch, welcoming it. “Is it true? Am I -- free?”

Gaping, Mark bit his tongue. He could not answer. Slowly, he helped her to her feet. She was a bit wobbly, but he kept her from falling.

“Come on,” he whispered. “The man sent to burn Verity’s body will be here any minute.”

Hiccupping, Aleah gave her sister one final glance back. She allowed Mark to lead her out of there. She kept her head down as they walked the hall together, soon pausing around the corner. She covered her mouth, holding her breath to get rid of her sudden hiccups. She was glad that Mark was staying with her. She looked up at him. He was staring worriedly down at her, sharing his sympathy. Thankful, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pulled him close to her, hugging him.

“Mm…” she whimpered.

Surprised, Mark went to pull away. But he stopped himself. He knew he could not be rude to her -- not at that moment. She was upset. She had lost her sister. He allowed her to hug him. And they stayed that way for a good few minutes. Eventually, Mark gently pulled away.

“Better?” he asked, watching her wipe at her eyes.

“I guess,” she sniffled. She looked up at him. Suddenly, her mind became fogged with memories. She thought back on the pain she had suffered through Verity’s hands. She thought of Pip, and how she had seduced him -- and she thought of Mark. Gorgeous, handsome, wonderful Mark.

She still loved him. And she had to tell him. Now -- this was her chance. She no longer wanted to be a coward. Her sister was gone. She was free. Cain had been right about that.

“Mark…” she slowly took his hand in hers. She rubbed it. “You’ve been so good to me.”

Blinking, Mark took his hand back. “I don’t want you to be sad, Aleah.”

“Please,” she sobbed. “L -- let me talk. I know it sounds crazy, Mark, but -- these past few months, living here’s been -- in -- incredible.” She held back a sniffle as she looked down for a moment. “When I first c -- came here with sister, I -- I was so nervous and sad. I missed my parents s -- so much…”

“But now -- now I’m happy.” She looked back up at Mark. She saw that he was listening well. But he did not seem to realize where she was going with her story.

“And I’ve watched you,” she continued. Her breathing slowed down… She opened her mouth wide, smiling. But she stopped. She backed away a bit, seeing that Mark was becoming tense. “Mark…?”

“Aleah, I have some work to finish,” he whispered. He just did not seem to understand. “I’m really sorry, but -- I should go…”

He turned, then. He was ready to go down the hallway. He was feeling at a loss. What was Aleah trying to tell him? Was she just as crazy as her sister? Or worse…? Had Cain been right about that?

“Wait!” he heard Aleah cry out, then. “Mark, please don’t leave me! Don’t leave me now…! I -- I -- I love you!”

He halted, then. He turned, and stared at her, shocked. He watched as she stumbled back some, trembling out of control.

“I --” she began. But she could not take anymore. She started to bawl as she turned and fled. She raced for her bedroom, her cries echoing throughout the long hallways.

Mark put his arm out. He slowly pulled it back, watching her run off.

Love? She -- loved him?

It all seemed so clear now, to him. Since her arrival, she had peeked at him from around corners, she followed him like a baby duckling following its mother. She went pink whenever she was around him… It was all so clear. And Mark felt like an idiot…

Deep down, he had the feeling that he cared for her greatly.

Suddenly growing some balls, Mark hurried down the hallway. He chased after her, prepared to fight out his own feelings, and to stop hiding behind his work. He wanted to prove that he could be strong. And that he, too, could quite possibly fall in love.